Big-name coaches nonplussed by shorter shot clock

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – John Calipari bluntly downplayed the effect a shorter shot clock might have on college basketball.

“Thirty seconds is not going to have an impact on the game,” the Kentucky coach said.

Roy Williams echoed that sentiment, if a bit less forcefully, and John Beilein figures the adjustment should be easy enough.

At a golf event Monday that included some of the game’s most successful coaches, the reaction to a reduced shot clock was tame. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee has recommended shortening the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds, a change that still has to be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Committee.

No big deal, says Williams.

“I wouldn’t mind it being even shorter,” he said. “To me the difference from 35 and 30 is very small. When I first became a head coach we had a 45-second shot clock and it went to 35, and that changed it a little bit. I don’t know that going from 35 to 30 is going to change it very much.”

The NCAA is trying to speed up the game and boost scoring, and the 30-second shot clock was tried out during the NIT, CBI and CIT postseason tournaments. Possessions per game went up 1.02 and offensive efficiency was up 0.6 points per 100 possessions, according to basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy.

Williams’ North Carolina teams have been among the most fast paced in the country, so it’s easy to understand why he’s fine with a shorter shot clock. Beilein’s teams, on the other hand, have employed a more methodical approach. At Michigan, he’s produced some tremendously efficient offensive teams, but the Wolverines are willing to be patient.

Now, they might have to shoot a bit sooner.

“We went to Europe last year, and we played with 24 seconds, and it really didn’t affect us very much,” Beilein said. “It is something we’ll just have to adjust to. I think we’ll have to practice for a while to really get it.”

The shot clock hasn’t been reduced since dropping from 45 to 35 seconds in 1993-94.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is fine with the shot clock at 30 seconds but isn’t eager to reduce it to 24. “I think if we’re going to prepare our guys for the NBA, then we might as well go to NBA rules — except for the 24-second clock,” Izzo said. “I just don’t think that college guys would be able to handle that — 30 is fine.”

Calipari’s biggest concern is physical play.

“We have rules that are in the books. Just call the foul,” he said.